Mobile communication devices are designed for many different purposes. In some devices, QWERTY keypads are included. For a user who uses a device to input a substantial amount of text, a device with a QWERTY keypad may be preferred. A device including a QWERTY keypad is typically larger than a device with a standard numeric keypad.
The makers of mobile communication devices, including those of cellular telephones, are increasingly adding functionality to their devices. While there is a trend toward the inclusion of more features and improvements for current features, there is also a trend toward smaller mobile communication devices. As mobile communication device technology has continued to improve, the devices have become increasingly smaller. For a device including a QWERTY keypad in particular, the more surface area that is beneficially utilized, the smaller the device may be.
In most QWERTY keypad devices, there has been a tradeoff between providing adequate surface area for the QWERTY keypad and keeping the overall size of the product to a minimum. Once a slider form factor device is fully opened, there is generally an overlap of the top surface and the bottom surface of greater than 15 mm. In such a case, the housing of the QWERTY keypad must be large enough to fully expose the QWERTY keypad considering the overlap.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention.